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Denmark to institute sweeping changes in handling misconduct

In six weeks, new policies for handling misconduct in Denmark will go into effect, which alter the definition of misconduct and establish clear policies for who handles such allegations.

Starting July 1, research misconduct will be limited to how it’s typically defined elsewhere — fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism (the previous definition included serious breaches of good scientific practices). All such allegations will be investigated by a central body, The Board for the Prevention of Scientific Misconduct — not at the institutions where the allegations are focused, as it has been in the past. Institutions, however, will remain responsible for investigating allegations of so-called Questionable Research Practices (QRPs) — such as only reporting data that support your hypothesis — and must publicize their policies for handling (QRPs).

Going forward, anyone making allegations of research misconduct in Denmark will submit them to the researchers’ institution, which will then forward them to the central board, along with any factual information about the case. The board will also consider allegations of misconduct in private industry, according to the release:

In connection with the legislative process, a request was made to include purely private research on, for instance, businesses, in the board’s supervision – a request that has been granted by the minister.

One thought on “Denmark to institute sweeping changes in handling misconduct”

“Klavs Hansen September 12, 2016 at 8:18 pm
You may of course write that Penkowa was cleared of the most serious charges against her. But it really was a ruling based on statute of limitations. The court found her as guilty as previously on the scientific issues.”